Chargers top Hornets

By Ryan Yemen
Published: September 12, 2008

ORANGE — Going into Friday night, Orange County football coach John Kayajanian knew that picking up a win against visiting Chancellor was going to be a daunting task.

The Hornets were up to the task in the first half, but were unable to stop the Chargers rushing attack in the second half as Chancellor picked up a 21-7 win.

“We stumbled a bit offensively,” Kayanjanian said. “They’re a ball control team with a big back and the clock just starting ticking, ticking, ticking.”

Up 7-0 at halftime, Orange watched its lead slip away as Chancellor (3-0) scored on their first possession of the third quarter.

“The plan was to keep [Hornets quarterback] Quintin Hunter off the field,” said Charger coach Bob Oliver. “We took time off the clock and got things turned around right on defense, but our offense is what won this game for us.”

Chargers running Dominique Wallace broke loose on his first carry of the second half, going 74 yards before punching it in for a touchdown two plays later.

“It was a great run and I actually slowed down a bit because I wasn’t sure where my wide receiver was,” Wallace said.

The UVa-bound senior had just 24 yards in the first half but finished the game with 147 yards on 20 attempts and a pair of touchdowns.

“Dominique means to us what Quintin Hunter means to them,” Oliver said. “When he makes big plays it just lifts our whole team.”

Hunter — who is also headed to UVa and will room with Wallace — got the Hornets off to a quick start. The senior quarterback led the offense to a touchdown on the first possession of the game, capping the drive with a 15-yard run.

However, after the opening drive, Orange (1-1) was unable to stir up much of anything on offense.

Hunter had 33 yards on the ground and picked up 147 in the air on 11 completions.

“We couldn’t convert on a couple of key drives,” Kayajanian said.  “Against a good team like that you’ve got to convert.”

Orange looks to take as much as it can out of going toe-to-toe with a playoff caliber team.

“I just wanted to find out if we could play with them,” Kayajanian said.  “I think we can, but we just made too many mistakes. We’ve got some tough games ahead and a game like this gets us ready for the Jefferson District.”